Work Truck Magazine, December 2017

DECEMBER 2017 WORK TRUCK 33 proached Dejana with a problem They had ordered 50 Ford Transit Connect vans through another upfitter and had inadvertently ordered the short wheelbase instead of the longer wheelbase The problem A shorter wheelbase meant shorter shelves and less storage for the cargo technicians needed to do their jobs It also resulted in just an 8 inch aisle between the shelves which left no room for technicians to navigate the space In essence once the previous upfitter installed the racks and bins the vans were basically useless Technicians didnt have enough room to store their equipment or access it and since the vehicles didnt meet their needs the company was considering disposing of them and taking a write off Fortunately the folks at Dejana had a solution Install Katerack shelving systems in the vehicles The key was taking advantage of the benefits of the Katerack system 300 pound rated infinitely adjustable shelves that bring the equipment out of the van and offer much better utility and organization to the field technician Culp explained With this innovative solution in place the customer had approximately 300 more shelf space for their cargo room for technicians to access their tools and better the vehicles were once again capable of fulfilling their mission Helping the customer avoid a massive write off was the first benefit Culp said But tactical gains by the technicians also showed cycle time savings at each stop as well as a reduced number of return trips to the office for a needed part that they didnt have on the van or couldnt find due to poor organization Reducing trips to the office yielded a major savings in productivity costs Prior to acquiring new vans with the Katerack shelving system the average technician spent a couple hours per week driving back to the office for parts they should have had for the days jobs At a labor cost of 50 per hour eliminating these trips saved the company roughly 100 per week per technician which translates to about 5000 per year for each technician Do the math across the 50 Transit Connects which the company plans to hold onto for five years and thats a 1250000 boost in productivity over the lifecycle of the vehicles according to Dejana INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY Another innovative van upfit balanced the need to be nimble while also transporting heavy equipment In this case a gas utility company needed to transport heavy meters and specialized tools and also required organized storage for fittings valves and other parts To maximize productivity it was important for technicians to be able to access parts and tools from outside the vehicle To accommodate these needs Braun of Sortimo said the companys increases the available payload for your van and reduces fuel costs A vehicle that drives further on a tank of gas helps the technician to spend less time refueling and gives him more time to accomplish work in the field MAKE THE MOST OF A SMALLER SPACE The opportunity for an innovative van upfit came in the form of a potentially costly ordering mistake for Jonathan Culp director fleet and leasing sales for Dejana In this instance a soon to be customer apThe Katerack systems infinitely adjustable shelves are rated for 300 pounds The shelves bring the equipment out of the van to offer increased utility and organization to the field technician On the street side the van provides storage for long components and tools while curbside the driver has access to Flexx Rack shelving that can fold away if more space is needed PHOTO DEJANA PHOTO DEJANA PHOTO SORTIMO

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